Cooper Clan reunion
by Dragonlover501
Summary: when Carmelita finds out that Sly has been living in Tennesse for the last three years, she goes to bring her favorite Criminal home to paris.


Carmelita was furious. Three long years had passed since Sly Cooper had vanished from the apartment they had shared. She had been making sure he was well out of trouble and (though she would never admit it to anyone but him) hoping to get him to ask her out. Things had been going well, so she had thought, until one day she came home to find his things missing. There was no note, nor any trace of where he had gone. She sat next to her new partner, who was an old lifelong friend, and roared in frustration. "Geez Carm, cool it." She looked at her friend. He was a large black wolf with bright yellow eyes. He was a large muscular man, but he was a teddy bear at heart. He put his hand on her shoulder and whispered. "Hey, we'll find him. He can't stay away from you for too long." He was one of two people who knew about her feelings for Sly. The other was her mentor Inspector Barkly, who wasn't really fond of the idea of his best officer having a fling with a world renowned Master criminal. Barkly had come with them to check out a rumor that sprang up in the U.S. Some woman in a small town in Tennessee had claimed to have spotted Sly working in a diner. From what the informant has said, Sly was working for the diners' elderly owner, a plump red hen in her late seventies.

"Weird isn't it?" asked her partner, whose name was David.

"What's weird?" Carmelita asked.

"Why would Cooper go back to the one place where his life took a turn for the worst?" David asked casually.

"What do you mean?"

"Before we left I did a little digging. This town is his birth place. And it's where his family was destroyed. The articles from the newspapers said that his family was brutally murdered on his eight birthday almost sixteen years ago. Why would he go back to a place filled with bad memories?" he said.

"His……family was murdered?" Carmelita gasped. Now Barkly was staring at David, shock written on his face.

"Yeah, but the weird thing is…..nobody ever found the bodies. It was like they just got up and walked away. But I digress; I dug into the police files and found out that Sly was sent to an orphanage called Happy Camper Orphanage. He grew up there. I think he became a thief, so he could get justice for his family. He lost his mom, dad, a brother…..and a sister." He said softly.

"You mean…..he really is the last of his family line?" Carmelita asked softly.

"Yep. Poor guy. No wonder he was so messed up. He had a good reason to be." David said.

"What were the boy's parent's names?" asked Barkly.

"Err….. Conner and Sara Cooper. Why do you ask?" David answered.

"S-s-s-Sara?!.......She ….was my old partner. She left after I was put on the original Cooper Gangs trail. She married him? She ruined her career for a thief that got her killed." Barkly said. He turned around and stared at the widow on the train. "I should have seen it. He has her eyes." They heard him mutter.

"Sly…." Carmelita whispered. She looked out her window and sighed sadly. Lost in her thoughts of her favorite criminal.

The Diner

Carmelita yawned as she awoke the next morning. She looked around the hotel room. It was bear. She sighed. She missed the days when she would wake up and see Sly standing in his old gear, waving at her through the window. That was when he had been a happier man. She missed his joking manner and his charm. That was one of the many reasons she secretly liked him. She got up and got dressed. She went down the hall to where Barkly and David were waiting for her. Barkly looked like he had a hangover, and David looked excited. They left the hotel and went to the diner where Cooper was supposedly working at. It was an old saloon. It looked like it belonged in a western film. The name of the diner was (what Carmelita thought to be a bad pun) The Hen House. David groaned.

"What?" Carmelita asked.

"Forgot to eat breakfast." David said sheepishly. Carmelita rolled her eyes and then they all went into the dinner. They sat down at a table and looked at the menu.

"Boy, this place sure has good taste in food." David said. He was a big food lover, mainly due to the fact he was always hungry.

"Why, thank ya darling." They all turned to see the owner of the diner. "My diner's the best in town; actually it's the only one in town. But what would ya'll like darling?" the old hen asked.

"I'll have eggs and side bacon if you please." David said politely.

"Coffee for me." Said Carmelita.

"An aspirin and coffee for me." Moaned Barkly.

"Ya'lls order will be up in a bit." The hen said.

She turned and waddled back into the kitchen. Carmelita turned and looked out the window. The town was small, but for some reason it was soothing to her. It reminded her of her home town in Spain. Suddenly she saw something. A motorcycle drove past. On it was a female raccoon with jet black hair. Behind her, her passenger looked almost identical to Sly. _"No……..It' can't be him. That man's wearing a police uniform."_ She thought. Suddenly she was aware someone was standing next to their table. She turned. It was a young raccoon. The boy looked just like Sly, all except for two differences. This boy had a visible scar across his throat and his eyes were a steel grey. He set down David's plate then gave Barkly and Carmelita their coffee.

"Jake….Jake Cooper?" The boy turned around.

"Sweetheart your mother called to remind you to take Sly his lunch. So get going hon." Said the old hen

Jake nodded and was about to walk away when David grabbed his arm. "Your brother is Sly Cooper?" he asked.

The boy nodded, and then he made a gesture as if he were writing. David handed him a pen and napkin. The boy wrote down a message.

"_Why do you ask? Are you some of his friends?"_ the note read.

"Yes, we're very old friends." David lied.

The boy wrote a second message.

"_Oh, well I can take you to him if you would like. He works at the police station. He is a cop." _It read.

"Oh, thank you. We would highly appreciate that my boy." David said.

Jake smiled and indicated they should follow. David scarped down his food and Carmelita and Barkly drained their cups. They followed the boy through the town.

"David how can Sly have a brother if their dead?" Carmelita whispered.

"Don't know, but the kid seems to know him. We're just going to have to wait and see."

Sly the Cop.

Sly was bushed. He had been pulling three shifts a night for the last month now. He yawned and propped his feet up on his desk. He smiled as he looked around the large office. It was furnished with two large desks. One belonged to him, and the other belonged to the former partner. Sly felt his heart drop at the thought of his partner. His partner had been a long time veteran of the police force. He had been the one who had made the deal with the government to make him a real cop. He had gone through the training and had passed with flying colors. His partner had been a large male grey fox. He had been killed earlier that year. A man and his partner had robbed a store and his partner Officer Garson had been off duty. He had tried to keep the man from killing a child that had gotten in the way. His partner saved the child, but had been shot ten times. Sly had arrived to find him dead. He had refused to have another partner. Even his own sister. She worked as an officer as well. She knew all too well how Sly had felt the loss of his friend. She had been dating Garson for little over a year when he had been killed. Sly sighed and yawned again. He got up and walked over to the small couch in the office. He lied down on it. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

Samantha was busy filing her paper work when she saw Jake walk in, a large bag in his hands.

"Hi Jake. You know where to go. Oh?" she said. Behind Jake, walked in a badger, wolf and fox. "May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, we are looking for a Mr. Sly Cooper. Would he happen to be here?" asked the wolf.

"Yes. He's in his office. Probably asleep." She chuckled

"_Damn……She is cute."_ Thought David as he stared at her.

"His office is the third door on the left. Jake can show you." Samantha said.

"Thank you."  
David with Barkly and Carmelita in tow followed Jake down. Jake opened the door quietly and peeked inside. He walked in and set the bag down on the desk. Carmelita came in after; dying to confirm it was really Sly. Much to her shock he was fast asleep on the couch. He face was contorted into an expression of pain. He was kicking his feet and twitching, his forehead dripping with sweat. She saw Jake go over to him and gently shake his shoulder, a look of concern of his face. Sly grunted and rolled over to his left side with his back to Jake and Carmelita. Jake shrugged and wrote down a message and handed it to Carmelita.

"_You better be prepared. Sly can be a total jackass when he is grouchy. Especially since his partner died."_ It read.

Jake walked out and shut the door. Carmelita read the note over and over again.

"_He had a partner? Probably some slutty girl who tried to sleep with him, or tried to flirt or kiss him. Trying to hit on MY criminal." _She thought angrily.

Suddenly Sly stirred and yawned. He rolled over and got up. He took a look at Carmelita then looked at his desk. Then realizing who was in his office, he did a double take.

"What in the hell?" was all he could say.

"Now is that really any way to greet your old friend?" Carmelita said sarcastically.

"Old friend my ass. What do you want? Come to torment me?" he snapped

"_Boy, he really is grouchy." _She thought

"No, you jackass I came to find you. You just left without a word. I thought something terrible had happened to you. Why the hell did you scare me like that?" she snapped back, her temper taking hold.

"Why are you so concerned? You got your boyfriend don't you?" Sly said angrily, not looking at her, a hurt expression on his face.

"Huh?" Carmelita said, utterly confused. Then it struck her. She had been about to break up with her old boyfriend when Sly had left. _"He must have thought I didn't care about him. He left because he was jealous."_ She thought. The thought of Sly being that crazy about her, made her heart race with excitement. She walked over to Sly and sat down next to him. He edged away angrily.

"Sly I broke up with him the day you left. …………..I was going to ask if you had wanted to get dinner with me that night…" she said softly. Sly glanced at her, his expression not fully trusting.

"Sure." He said. He looked away. He wanted to believe her, but with the death of his friend still fresh in his mind, he was afraid of getting hurt again. At the thought of Garson lying dead on the cold cement blood flowing from his chest, Sly's eyes welled up with tears. Carmelita noticed and scooted closer to him.

"What happened to your partner?" she asked him softly.

"He…..was killed saving a little girl. I wasn't there fast enough to save him. I shot one of the bastards who killed him. Doesn't matter though, two people are dead and I'm down a good friend and Sam's lost her fiancé." He said.

"Oh…….I am sorry." She said. _"Damn. I jumped to conclusions…..again."_ she thought.

Before she could get another word in Barkly entered the office. "Well Cooper you seemed to have out done yourself." He said a slight tone of respect in his voice.

"What did you bring the whole department here?" Sly asked Carmelita. She shrugged.

"Hey where's David?" Carmelita asked. She just realized he wasn't there.

"Huh, oh he's flirting with that young raccoon girl up front." He said casually.

"HE'S WHAT!?" Sly yelled. He shot out of the office and ran down the hall to the front. He saw David leaning on Samantha's desk with a cocky smile. He stalked over. He grabbed David by the scruff of his neck and dragged him back to his office. He opened the door and threw him into the room.

"DON"T YOU EVER, EVER FLIRT WITH MY BABY SISTER AGAIN!" he yelled. David shrunk back and nodded. Sly had a look of pure rage. He disliked anybody who thought it was okay for them to treat his sister like she had no brain.

Carmelita stared at him. "That's your sister?" she asked stunned. _"That would explain why she knew Jake." _She thought.

"Yes, and she has had enough heartache without this schmoose trying to flirt with her. She already had to deal with losing Garson. I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT HER. YOU GOT IT?" Sly yelled at David.

"Sly, Sly……" a voice called.

"Yes Samantha?" Sly responded.

"That was Dad. He wants you and me back home pronto. He has a big announcement." She said.

"Alright. Tell him we have guest coming over too. And get Jake to set up the guest rooms." Sly called.

Sly turned back to Barkly and Carmelita, although his eyes still lingered on David.

"Well welcome to Tennessee."

Truck ride Confessions.

Carmelita sat next to Sly in his truck. He was talking just to pass the time on the four hour long drive. He had the radio off. She smiled at him slightly.

"What?" Sly asked noticing her gaze. "Do I have lettuce stuck in my teeth?"

"No. You just look good in a uniform that's all." She said giggling at the shocked look on his face. His cheeks turned a deep red.

"Uhhhhhhh… (cough)….So….how have things been?" Sly said trying to change the subject.

"After you left things got dull." Carmelita said.

"Huh? Who would have thought?"

"Sly….I was just wondering….we heard you family was murdered. How can they possibly be alive?" Carmelita asked.

"Well…..My…he he….Uncle ….Dr. M….." He laughed "It's not the Dr.M from the Kaine Island thing. That was his twin brother. My Uncle M is a doctor and was coming over to celebrate. By that point I was found by my neighbors who took me to the cops. My uncle M rushed everybody to his private lab. My Dad was the worst. He nearly died. Mom would have killed him if he had though." Sly chuckled.

"Is that why you brother Jake can't speak?"

"Yeah, but that hasn't stopped him…..He reminds me of ……."

"Sly….I know you were faking amnesia. You can talk about your friends."

"YOU KNEW?"

"Yes. You're a great thief and an even better cop, but you're a crappy liar. I figured you were faking it to get close to me…..so ……I just took advantage of the situation and turned it in my favor."

"That's…….Sneaky….. I'm impressed."

"What, you're the only one who can pull a fast one? I learned that from your little kiss back in Russia." Carmelita said in a flirty voice. She scooted closer to Sly and gave him a look that caught his attention. He blushed and tried to focus on the road. _"Damn, why the hell does she have to do this while I'm driving? One more comment like that from her and we'll be in a ditch. And she would be practically on top of me. DAMN IT! Don't think like that you idiot. You have a family to think about. I can't flirt, or get romantic anymore. Snap out of it Sly. Okay I just have to keep my eyes on the road…don't think about how hot she….looks...in...Her uniform...OH DAMN IT…Focus you idiot focus on the road .I will not look at her, I will not look at her…. I ….will…NO, No! I am not going to do this. I have self control. I will NOT think about her like that..."_ He thought. Sly coughed and blushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Well….. (Cough)…….soooo…..you guys mind staying in a house full of people, or in these case kids and a crazy Uncle and my dad's sister?" Sly said, again changing the subject. Carmelita could tell by the look on his face that he was overheating. He was really getting nervous. Carmelita chuckled. _"Perfect. A few more compliments and he'll be in my arms for good . He gets so flustered….It's cute. I should have done this three years ago.. who would have thought that Sly Cooper got flustered so easily.." _She thought. She wanted that raccoon to be with her, and her alone. She had earned that right, and no girl was going to steal her male. She decided to answer his question as she realized how tight Sly was gripping the wheel.

"Well, I had to share and apartment with you, so I think I can manage." She said

"Well, just be prepared. I got four little bothers and baby sister who are going to be thrilled with you. They love cops. Mainly because Dad hates the idea of them following in his footsteps. He wasn't thrilled when he found out that I did. He wanted me to choose a more…….productive life." Sly said a tone of disbelief clearly audible.

"Really? I thought he would have been proud of you."

"Yeah…..he was going to…..until his best friend got killed. It was after the…..well you know….his friend was investigating a gun sales ring……he never had a chance. Dad told me he had a daughter….I met her once I think. It was when I was real little, so I don't remember much." He said. Then Carmelita remembered her father had been killed in a gun sales sting operation.

"Sly….was your fathers friend name Carlos Montoya fox?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"That was my Father's name."

"Wait, your….Oh my god….."

"What?" Carmelita asked, concerned.

And before Sly could even stop himself the truth blurted out.

"I'm in love with my dad's best friend's daughter. I am in love with my GODSISTER."

After realizing what he had just confessed, He clamped his mouth shut. "Damn, now she won't ever talk to me again." He thought.

"You love me?" Carmelita said in a mock surprised voice. She smiled , glad to have it out in the open, where she could use it to her advantage, and get him to tell her a bit more.

"Uh…wait, no what I meant to say was…uh...err…oh hell……I ...I uh...uh...Dum…err (cough)." Sly said in an embarrassed tone. Carmelita giggled and scooted up close to him. Sly coughed and gripped the steering wheel harder. Carmelita smiled and leaned over. She got within barley an inch away from his muzzle. She could feel the heat coming off his face.

"Well, it's about time you told me ringtail. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to. Just remember, you're MY criminal. And don't you forget it..." Carmelita said in a soft whisper. Then she kissed him gently on his cheek."uh…….duh…..I….um….err…" was all Sly could choke out of his mouth. He felt his body temperature rise to a point where he began to sweat_. "Boy Christmas is going to be VERY interesting this year." _Sly thought.

Kids.

Sly had his arm around Carmelita waist as they walked up to the door of the huge house.

"Ms. Fox welcome to The Cooper abode." Sly said giving her a mock bow.

But just as Sly opened the door a small blur rammed him.

"GAH. RUSTY YOU DUMB MUTT GET OFF ME!" Sly yell

Rusty was a small dog. It bounced up and down with excitement.

"Awwwww. You have a dog?" She asked as she petted the ball of furry energy.

"Yeah….he belonged to Garson. Sam took him in. That damn things loves me." He said in an irritated tone.

"Swy…..swy….." Cried a small voice. A small raccoon toddler wandered out and grabbed Sly's leg.

"Well hello Susie…..How's my favorite little munchkin?" he asked in a chuckle.

"Toof, toof." The little girl said while pointing to her mouth.

"Tooth? Oh, I see it now…you got one of your big girl teeth. Well guess what that means you get after supper?"

"Icy Cweam." The toddler giggled. Sly picked her up and blew a raspberry into her small stomach. The girl giggled even louder. Then the girl spotted Carmelita.

"Who dat?"

"This is my girl……my friend Carmelita. She works for the cops like me Susie." Sly said. Carmelita heard him pause just as he almost said girlfriend. She smiled. He was still trying to grasp the fact that she loved him.

"You, catch bad guys?" Susie asked.

Carmelita smiled "Yes, I catch bad guys."

"You gonna get da bad man who take Gar gar away?"

"Uh, Susie, remember what mommy said about mentioning Gar gar?" Sly said quickly.

"Dat it makes Sammy sad. I miss Gar gar." The toddler said sadly. She hugged Sly around his neck.

"Sly? Honey is that you?" shouted a woman's voice.

"Yes Mom. I brought over a …friend for dinner. Sam home yet?"

"No. You know how she is about guests."

"Right…..oh….Ladies first." Sly said gesturing for Carmelita to go inside.

Carmelita was astonished by how decorated the house was. It had pictures of all of Sly's siblings and of a man Carmelita assumed was the mysterious Garson. Sly, carrying little Susie, led Carmelita to the den, where she saw a pair of female raccoons knitting. The first one, who had her grey hair in a bun, and was wearing a pale red dress with an apron, looked up and smiled, "Hello there. Sly, is this the young woman you're so intrieged by? This young lady is quite the looker. You have your father's charm for sure. She would make you and excellent girlfriend dear." She asked noticing Carmelita. Carmelita blushed lightly at the comment.

"MOM!" Sly said. His eye widend in embarrassment and his face turned a bright red.

His mother chuckled and continued.

"Oh, honestly dear, she is quite a catch. I can't wait to show her your baby pictures. Esesially the one of you in the bath tub when you were two years old."

"MOM! Your embarrassing me." Sly moaned under his breath. Carmelita had to stifle a laugh as she watched Sly turn a bright red.

"Oh, knock it off Sara. If the boy wants to date the girl, don't tease him. As I recall you and Conner had quite the fling back in high school." Said the second raccoon. She had a bright orange shirt and a pair of faded jeans on, her graying brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She extended her hand out.

"Hello, I'm Sly's Aunt Lily. You would be?"

"Carmelita Fox. Pleasure to meet you."

"Sly all sweaty mommy." Exclaimed Susie. Sly set her down and she waddled into the kitchen. "DADDY." They heard her say.

"Well hello princess. Is mommy teasing Sly again?" said a voice almost identical to Sly's only it was more coarse and was a bit of a deep baritone. " Uh huh."Sly's father poked his head out of the kitchen. He looked almost like sly, all except for a scar going over his right eye and his eye's being grey.

"Sara, stop teasing the boy. We want him to get married, not be a bachelor his entire life."

"DAD YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Sly said quickly.

Just as he said it a choirs of voices shouted.

"SLY!"

"Uh, oh….here we go again." Sly groaned. Carmelita looked at him in wonder at his comment. Suddenly a huge blur of grey rammed Sly and proceed to tickle him. Carmelita realized that the grey blur turned out to be four highly energetic boys. Sly was laughing from the onslaught of tickling and couldn't talk.

"Boys, knock it off and leave your brother alone with his date." Said his father.

"Dad don't tell them that." Sly gasped as he regained his breath. Carmelita helped him back up and raised her eyebrows at him. Sly shrugged, and spoke in a low tone. "They'll ask if you're going to marry me for like a month. They did the same thing to Sam." Carmelita giggled.

'Sly you got a girlfriend?" All four of the boys asked in unison. Sly groaned. All the boys looked at Sly with a smirk on each of their faces, just ready to tease their older brother.

"Boy's ……." Called their father. The four boys settled down and went back up the stairs to play.

"Uh….I'll just go show Carmelita the guest rooms now…..before you humiliate me in front of her again." He added in an undertone that only Carmelita could hear. She smiled. She followed him down the hall to a large bedroom.

"Uh…….sorry about that…..mom's dead set on getting me married. She really wants grandkids. You should have seen me last week. She set me up on a date that she didn't bother to tell me about. Yeah…needless to say I came home with a black eye."

"Why?"

"Mom didn't bother to ask the girl if she already had a boy friend. Thankfully he said he was sorry a day later after my mom explained what happened."

"Well…..at least she was right about the girlfriend part…." Carmelita said softly. She looked behind her at Sly, to see his reaction.

Sly coughed and blushed. He pulled at the collar of his shirt and cleared his throat. Normally he was calm in this kind of situation, normally because HE was the one doing the flirting. Now he felt akward and nervous. He tried to avoid her gaze, only to be mesmerized by it once more.

"Look….I was wondering….since you guys came all this way….would you like to…spend Christmas with my family?" he asked nervously.

"Yes" Carmelita replied, almost too quickly. The thought of being under mistletoe with Sly made her heart pound.

"Uh…..really? Great!" Sly said.

SLAM

They both turned when they heard the front door slam shut. They looked out the door and down the hall to see Jake. He was holding his face and shivering.

"Could you wait here for a sec?" he asked her

"Yeah."

Sly went down the hall to his little brother.

"Jake? Are you oka…."

Jake took his hand away from his face. His right eye was swollen and his lip was bleeding.

"OH my god…….Jake who did this?" sly asked

Jake pulled out a spiral notebook and wrote down:

_The Dingo twins. They were going to hurt Amie, so I hit one and kicked the other. Amie got away. I'm okay. _

"OKAY …….Jake YOU LOOK LIKE YOU GOT INTO A DAMN BAR FIGHT. DON'T YOU LIE AND TELL ME YOUR OKAY." Sly yelled

Sly's parents heard this and came into the hall.

"Oh my baby!!!" gasped his mother.

"Son who did this to you?"

"It was Benson's kids. He and those brats have gone to damn far this time. I could handle the name calling and the insults, but now it is personal. I am getting the judge and Chief here pronto. ." Sly ranted. He was furious; his brother had been beaten up. He went back to where Carmelita waited for him.

"Is Jake alright?"

"No….. A couple of thugs beat him up. I'm going to get the judge and my boss. I am going to settle this once and for all. I could handle those little delinquents insulting me, but now they have gone too far. There about to find out what happens when you mess with my family." He snarled

"Cooper calm down, just take a deep breath. First let's make sure your brother is okay first, and then we get your boss." Carmelita said. Never had she seen Sly so angry, and the sight of it bothered her. Sly did as she said and took a few deep breaths. Then, both he and Carmelita went to see how badly Jake was attacked. He was sitting in the living room while his mother cleaned up his face with a damp cloth. His father was on the phone with the judge and Sly's boss. Sly went over and placed his hand on Jake's shoulder. "You doing okay pal?" he asked softly. Jake nodded and winced as the cloth touched one of the cuts on his face. His eye had gone down and he could open it barely.

"Oh….you are going to have a nasty scar on your cheek." His mother said.

"Believe me mom; a scar on the cheek is small compared to the scar I got. Jake got lucky; his scar won't leave his fur white." Sly said, pointing to the place where he had been shot defending Carmelita from Dr.M. Then Sly turned back to her and offered her his arm.

"Would you like a tour of the farm?" he asked the familiar mischievous flare in his eye.

Carmelita nodded and took his arm. Jake saw the display and made a gagging sound. Sly turned around and spoke.

"Just you wait Jake, when you ask Amie out, then you won't think that." Sly said with a smirk. Carmelita chuckled at his comment, while Jake merely glared at him, angry about him discussing his secret crush on his best friend. It was hard enough that she had a boyfriend; he didn't want Sly to make fun of how he felt.

After an hour or so Sam, Barkly and a very car sick David came in. By then Sly had shown Carmelita his family's house and they had eaten. They were sitting in the den when Sam came in, her face fixed in an expression of disgust.

"Geez Sam. What took you?" Sly asked

"City boy over there got car sick and we had to make him ride in the bed of my truck." Sam replied.

Sly laughed and Sam gave a smile. She looked at how close Sly and Carmelita were to one another on the sofa.

"Oh….seems likes you two have been busy..." Sam teased, knowing she could get Sly to react.

"Sam……" Sly said, his voice having a dark tone to it.

"Okay, okay….learn to take a joke big brother, no wonder you don't date. You're a big sour puss."

Just before sly could comment his father came into the den. "Well, now that we are all here, I would like to make an announcement."

They all leaned in.

"It seems my old pal McSweeney is out of jail. He will be living with us until further notice. Now if you'll excuse me, I promised the boys a bed time story about …..Maxwell what job was it that we pulled in Spain? "He asked

"We stole a large herd of racing horses from a rich crime boss. Even old Carlos was impressed by that one." Said a voice. The owner walked in to the den. Maxwell was an old grey mandrill, with brilliant green eyes and a balding head. He wore a white lab coat and trousers.

"Ah…yes…..Carlos was so mad he wouldn't talk to me for a month. He loved horses……but I digress. You all have a good night." Sly's father said as he walked up the stairs.

"That's dad for you." Sly muttered. "Always likes to tell tales."

Barkly sat down and groaned. He rubbed his legs.

"Oaf, twenty years of police work, does not do a body well. I think I popped my hip out again."

"Hey David you feeling better?"

"Uhhhhhhhhrrg"

They all laughed.


End file.
